Farid's visit
by LorennaLee
Summary: After a year of not seeing Dustfinger or anyone else, Farid and a girl named Lana have to go to Dustfinger for Roxane to heal Farid because of a robbery in the woods where he was injured. What seemed to be an ordinary visit turns a fight with blackjackes
1. Chapter 1

Farid walked through the woods, silent and graceful. He'd learned quite a lot with Dustfinger, how to move around silently being one of them. Of course everything he learned about being a FireDancer was the most important. He missed Dustfinger the most these last few months. But Dustfinger was happy. He had his wife Roxane, and his daughter Brianna. Everyone: Silvertongue and Resa, Meggie and Doria, Dustfinger and Roxane, even Elinor all ended up happy. All except him.

He had left about six months after Meggie broke his heart. He went from village to village, performing. He was surprised to find that people around town were actually saying that he was better than Dustfinger! Farid never believed them. No one was a better Fire Dancer than Dustfinger. The people probably just settled for Farid because Dustfinger was no longer performing. Although he had become quite wealthy over the past couple of months. He was wearing much nicer Fire Dancer clothes and could have bought a house if he wanted, but he preferred wandering and sleeping in the forest, under the stars.

Now it has been two years since he'd seen any of them. He'd avoided going to the villages they were at or if he heard they were going to be somewhere, he'd make sure he was somewhere else. He just felt out of place with them. And now it would just be way to awkward to go back, even if he missed them all more than ever.

A scream cut the peaceful silence of the woods in the night. Farid's head snapped up to the direction it came from. It was a woman's scream and it was coming from somewhere far in from of him. He started running to find the source of the commotion. He ran silently, not making a sound, until he reached a clearing where he immediately knew what was happening.

A young woman, maybe a year younger than him, probably around eighteen, was standing, surrounded by three men. Farid hid behind a large tree, hiding him from view.

"Please, Please! I don't have anything else! I already gave you all my money! Please, just don't hurt me!" the woman was almost in tears. She was average height, slender, with long brown hair that was in a beautiful braid that fell half way down her back. She had green eyes that were wide with fright.

"Come on, honey. Now why would we want to hurt a pretty little thing like you? We'll treat you well, now won't we, Grisom?" the man smiled a mischievous smile that sent a shiver down Farid's spine. The man, Grisom, chuckled darkly

"I reckon not. As long as she does what she's told!" All three men laughed.

The man in the middle started walking toward her with a sickening smile on his lips. The girl backed up as far as she could until she was cornered up against a large tree. There was no way for her to escape out of his grasp now, she was trapped.

Farid acted on instinct, without even thinking. He slowly crepted his way and positioned himself so that he was right behind the two men standing together. Grabbing his pack off his back, he yanked out a rope and put it on his arm. So quick they didn't notice what was happening, he jumped out, grabbed a stick and hit the two men over the head in one swing. Then taking advantage of their shock and confusion, he quickly ran the rope all the way around them, and tied them to the nearest tree behind them. They struggled against the rope, trying to break the knot but of course, to no avail. They cursed loudly. By this time, the other man was running over. The man, Grisom, pulled out a knife and attempted to swing at Farid, but Farid was too fast. He grabbed Grisom's wrist and twisted it, causing Grisom to yell in pain and frustration. Grisom broke loose of his grasp and swung again, this time cutting Farid's shoulder. Farid cursed, and punched Grisom in the nose, causing blood to gush and him to stagger back. Taking that advantage, Farid grabbed another rope from his pack and quickly wrapped it around him and a tree.

The girl came rushing up to him, panic and worry now on her face.

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!"

Breathing deeply, Farid inspected his injured arm. On his upper left arm was a deep cut, bleeding badly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I need to stop the bleeding." He walked over to where his pack lay in the dirt and rumaged through it until he found an old shirt. He wrapped it around his arm and tied it very tight to put pressure on it.

"T-thank you...You saved my life." She looked up at him with gratitude and trust in her eyes.

He stared back into her eyes and smiled, "It wasn't really a big deal...I just couldn't let someone hurt you...Men like them deserve to be tied to trees," he grinned.

She laughed and looked down to his arm. "That looks really bad! We really need to get you to a healer. It could get infected or..or something. The nearest town is this way."

Farid walked next to her and suddenly realized that this way looked familiar. After a while, he realized why: They were headed to Dustfinger and Roxane's house.


	2. Chapter 2

Farid kept walking, trying to decide what to do. He wasn't sure if he should tell the girl that he didn't want to go to Roxane or to just stay quiet and see what happens. Of course, if he says he doesn't want to go to Roxane, she'll either ask a lot of questions or make her own assumptions, which probably both would be bad. He decided that he should probably just wait and see, because Dustfinger might not be there and Roxane hates him anyway so she probably wouldn't even mention it to Dustfinger.

His shoulder had started to ache, throbs of pain shooting up his arm with every step. He had to get his mind off the pain. He glanced over at the girl the same time she did, and they both looked away. She was very pretty, he thought. Suddenly he realized he didn't even know her name.

"I'm sorry, You must think I'm rude. I never introduced myself. I'm Farid," he said, breaking the silence between them.

"Rude? You just saved my life!" She laughed, "Well, Hi Farid, I'm Lana."

She glanced at his clothes, "So, Are you a...Fire dancer?"

He grinned, "Yep." He held out his good arm and made each of his fingers ignite with flame.

"Woah! That is so cool! How do you do that?!" She asked enthusiastically.

They kept walking, the entire time, talking. They talked about everything. Lana talked about how her parents were killed when she was young, and she hadn't seen her brother in years, and how she has taken care of herself all this time. Farid felt he could trust her, he _wanted _to trust her. He explained everything to her. He was suprised that she didn't laugh in his face and leave, but she didn't. She listened intently and asked many questions, never doubting his answers. It was great to finally have someone to talk to, to understand him.

"So, why did you leave? They are your family and they love you. They were probably heartbroken when you left." she asked, looking up at him.

"Well...I don't really know. I just felt out of place. They all had someone, someone they could talk to, someone to understand them. And I don't."

"That doesn't mean you won't find someone," she pointed out.

"Yeah, i guess that's true. But that was two years ago and I wasn't thinking, but now it would be ...I don't know, awkward, I guess to just show up. Don't you think?" He asked, he really wanted her opinion.

"No, I don't think it's ever too late," He stopped and she stopped to look up at him.

"Really?"

"Really. It's never too late to go back to your family," she gave a sad smile. "Because you never know when something could happen and then they're gone forever."

Looking into her face, he saw a resemblance that he didn't see earlier. He stared at her wondering if it were possible. Her story matched, but that didn't mean anything. Many lost family members. Taking another good look at her, he was sure. Lana was Basta's little sister. He didn't know what to do. He was really wondering if her could ever be with her, but now that was impossible. There was no way he could ever be with Basta's sister.

No! Just because she was related to Basta doesn't make her any different. He still felt the connection with her, there was no changing that. After everything he had told her, admitting to all his mistakes, his wrong judgments, she still accepted him. She understood him and he understood her. Both of them had no one, except each other. You don't get to choose your decided not to mention it. He didn't care, it didn't change her.

Lana laughed, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh, uhh..sorry, you just reminded me of someone I used to know." He smiled, "Nevermind, It's not important."

"Oh, okay. How's your arm? I think we're almost there, but let me see it," she turned to see his arm, pulling up the fabirc gently, trying not to hurt him. He leaned down to take a look too, when she looked up, there was only a little space between their faces. Farid realized how close they were and was going to pulled away, but instead moved in closer, closing the space. He kissed her gently, but passionately and she returned it just the same. Her lips were warm and soft on his, so much different than Meggie's. With Meggie, Farid hadn't felt such emotion in their kisses. With Lana, he could feel her passion and longing for someone to care and love.

When they broke the kiss, they both looked into each others eyes for awhile, just trying to read each other.

Lana broke the silence first. She was smiling, "Um...we should get walking. We're almost there and your arm is still bleeding," she said, her voice a little unsteady and higher than usual.


	3. Chapter 3

Farid and Lana continued walking. Farid's shoulder was hurting worse than ever now, though he wouldn't mention it to Lana. She was already worried enough. She asked how he was every five minutes. Throbs of pain were shooting through his arm making it harder to hike through the woods.

Then finally when he thought he couldn't take it longer, he saw the house coming into view. Seeing the small, yet cozy, house brought back many memories. Like when he first came to the InkWorld with Meggie, and first went to Dustfinger's house, Roxane immediately showing her dislike for him. Roxane had especially started hating him after Dustfinger gave his life for him, but she hadn't had to worry about disliking Farid ever since he had left. I guess her luck ran out, Farid thought.

"Come on, we really need to get your arm looked at! I'm so worried about you! You know, just because you say your fine every time I ask, doesn't mean you fool me," Lana smiled and tugged on his shirt so he would start walking.

"It doesn't hurt that badly," he tried to argue, playfully. "I got it by saving a Damsel in Distress!" He flexed and acted like a superhero in a comic book.

Lana blushed and burst out laughing. He had her laughing so hard that she was still laughing and wiping her eyes when they got to Dustfinger's front door.

After one last look at Lana, who was still fighting a smile, Farid knocked on the door with his good arm. He hoped they weren't already asleep. It was just after sunset, so they probably weren't, but he would have taken any excuse to escape from having to face Dustfinger.

The door opened, after a few minutes, and Brianna was standing in the doorway.

"Hey, I know you, don't I?" she asked.

"Umm, yeah. Farid. I used to be Dustfinger's friend," Farid said awkwardly.

"And this is Lana," he added.

"Who's at the door, Brianna?" Dustfinger's voice came from somewhere inside the house.

"Some guy. he says- "

"Farid's hurt, so could you please get Roxane for us? He has a serious cut on his shoulder that's deep and needs to be healed." Lana's anxious voice interrupted Brianna, who seemed to have, at that moment, decided not to like Lana. Hmm like mother like daughter, to hate someone for no reason.

"I don't like people telling me what to do, so I don't think I will," Brianna folded her arms and fixed her face with a stern look of determination.

"I wasn't telling you what to do! He's hurt badly! Go get your mother, PLEASE." Lana fired back.

"That seemed like telling someone to do something, to me. Let me think...ugh NO!" And with that, she slammed the door in their faces.

They stood silent for a moment, looking at the closed door. Lana turned to Farid.

"I don't think I like her." Farid laughed and agreed. Brianna had never seemed to like him anymore after what happened with her father.

Lana pounded on the door again. The door opened a little, leaving a inch think crack...and slammed again.

By now, Farid could tell Lana was getting mad. And he was glad she was so determined. His arm was hurting so bad he had his hand on it to try to stop more bleeding and pains were shooting up his arm repeatedly. His whole left side of his body was aching. Lana pounded on the door with all her strength repeatedly, until someone opened the door again.

"Now listen! Farid is hurt and I'm not leaving until we see your mother, you little-" she stopped short when she realized it wasn't Brianna. It was Dustfinger

"Oops sorry..." Lana apologized, but Dustfinger wasn't mad. He stared at them both in turn, calculating.

"Farid?" he asked, though it was obvious. He had only aged two years. Some emotion flickered in his eyes, but it disappeared fast.

"Uhh, yeah. It's me, and his is Lana. Lana, this is Dustfinger," Farid's voice sounded strained, even to him, through the pain.

After a moment of just staring at them, Dustfinger snapped back into himself.

"Farid! What's happened? Come in," he said, motioning them both in. He seemed to keep flashing his eyes over them both, back and forth, as if he couldn't beleive it was actually him. Then he saw Farid's arm. His left shoulder was caked in blood, dried and fresh. He couldn't see the injury well but he could tell Farid was in pain, even if he was trying to put off that he wasn't.

"Come sit down, I'll get Roxane."

Farid and Lana sat down next to each other on the couch as Dustfinger rushed into another room to get Roxane.

Lana look at Farid, and smiled encouragingly. "See he was happy to see you...under the circumstances that is. I'm sure he'd of rather seen you when you weren't hurt."

"You just wait until his wife comes in here. You think her daughter is bad, you were just playing with the cub. Roxane is the big mama bear who seems to be grumpy from being woken up during hibernation. And I'm the one she wants to shred apart with her massive claws." He joked quietly, so only they could hear.

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you_ that _bad," Lana said, smiling.

"Grrrr..." Farid said quietly, causing Lana to laugh, a little too loud.

"Well, it seems someone's not as hurt as they put off," Roxane walked in, tailed by Dustfinger.

Lana stifled another laugh, realizing Farid was right.

"It's not too bad. It's not even that serious-" Farid tried to say.

Lana interrupted, "It is serious. I think he might even need some stitches. Could you please help us? I know you probably don't like people just showing up at your home, but we didn't really have a choice. This was the closest."

"I'll pay you, of course." Farid added.

"Nonsense. Don't worry about. You know you're welcome here. You've always been welcome here," Dustfinger said, his voice becoming sfter toward the end.

"Thanks," Farid said awkwardly, looking at Dustfinger.

Roxane laid out the supplies and herbs she needed to heal him and got to work without comment. Though, he could tell she wasn't very happy.

Farid fought himself not to wince as Roxane, somewhat roughly, cleaned the deep cut and started applying herbs.

Dustfinger stood back just watching. Now he could actually get a good look at them both. Farid looked a lot more mature than he remembered. He had filled out, mostly muscle. His hair was shorter, like he had cut it recently, and his hands were definitely one of a firedancer. Dustfinger had heard a lot about him in town, he had even created new tricks. Not only in appearance, Farid acted different too. His eyes showed wisdom, knowledge, and an intensity like a deep pool, holding many emotions and secret knowledge.

And the girl, Lana. Dustfinger was glad Farid had met someone, he deserved to have someone. She was very beautiful, Dustfinger had to admit. She had long, brown hair, weaved in an intricate braid that lay over her shoulder. Her eyes were deep green, that complimented her sharp cheekbones. He could see the concern and anxiety in her eyes, despite the smile on her face, as she watched Roxane.

"So what did you do to cause her to give you such an injury?" Dustfinger asked Farid, meaning it as a joke.

"Got herself into a fight in the woods," Farid answered, a grin spreading across his face. "You know, you really should stop messin with those robbers."

"Oh shut up," Lana laughed, "Actually he saved me." She said turning back to Dustfinger. "He took on three robbers. Without the help of me, I might should add. I wasn't much help, just standing there like an idiot."

"Yes, but you stood there looking very pretty," Farid said, teasing.

Lana gave him a "You are getting on my nerves...but i love it" kind of look and blushed a little.

"You took on three robbers?" Dustfinger looked impressed.

"Yep."

Roxane added another herb to the mixed she had made and started to rub it on his cut causing him to wince.

"Wow, that's really impressive. Without even a weapon?"

"Just some rope," Farid smiled, "No way are they getting untied."

Dustfinger laughed. "Yeah, you definitely had your way with tying knots."

Farid smiled, but then his smile faded. Hot pain drove through his head like a spike, followed by a racking wave of nausea. He blinked several times trying to fight the urge to retch and hoping the throbbing radiating through his temples would ease. He closed his eyes tighly to stop the dizziness but it did nothing.

"Farid? Farid?! Are you okay?" He could hear the panic in Lana's voice, but he couldn't bring himself to reply, afraid he might actually retch if he even opened his mouth.

"Farid? Answer me!" He heard Dustfinger's voice now, filled with anxiety."Roxane, what's wrong with him?!"

"I don't know! I just put the herbs I use all the time for pain, there shouldn't be anything wrong." Farid was surprised to detect a little worry in her voice also.

Farid groaned. He didn't think he'd ever felt so bad in his entire life.

"Farid, please stay with me. Stay awake," he felt Lana's lips kiss him roughly, trying to pull him from half-unconsciousness.

He wanted to say, yes. He wanted to stay conscious and be with her forever, but the blackness was pulling him further and further. He tried to resurface but he couldn't. As much as he tried, the black sea swallowed him up in its dark depth. His last conscious thought was: _That bitch, Roxane, probably poisoned me. _Then he fell into complete darkness.

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Author's Note: So I hope you like Chapter three! And no, Roxane did not actually poison Farid. LOL It was a joke, for those of you who take everything seriously (and you know who you are...who actually gasped when they read that) Please review, I'll continue if you want me to, if not I'll probably drop it if notmany people like it. So please give me your opinion! Thanks!

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	4. Chapter 4

Farid felt like he was falling into a pit of darkness. Everything was pushing down on him, pressure pounded his ears. He could hear nothing, not Lana's frantic voice or Dustfinger's panic-stricken voice. The pounding in his head was gone, replaced with a numb feeling. Darkness was all around him, black was all he saw. He remembered nothing, no one. All he knew was the black oblivion.

Then all went white and images were flashing in front of his eyes.

The day Meggie had read him out of his story. He was back at Capricorn's fortress, surrounded by Capricorn and his men. Fear swam through him like he was back to that day.

He was walking in quiet forest with Gwin sitting on his shoulder. In front of him Dustfinger was walking swiftly and silently, not making a sound. Farid wished he could walk as quietly as him, but every step caused a trig to snapped and leaves to crunch under his feet. Farid kept practicing whispering to the sparks he concurred on his fingertips until a tiny flame appeared. "Yes! I did it!" Dustfinger turned around and smiled at Farid with something like affection in his eyes.

Farid stood with Meggie, both staring open mouthed in awe at the forest around them. Meggie had just read them into the ink world. He could see Meggie's fear and sorrow, missing her father and wondering if she had done the right thing. But all Farid felt was joy and excitement.

He was back in the cave, leaning over Dustfinger's motionless body. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, and dripped from his chin to Dustfinger's shirt, leaving pools of tears soaking in. He picked up his hand gently. Dustfinger's once warm hand was now cold and lifeless.

Farid stood at the edge of camp, looking around in the night. He was going to miss them, there was no denying it. But he needed to leave. Everyone was sound asleep, unaware that they may never see again. He turned toward the woods and started to walk.

"Where are you going?" Dustfinger's soft voice cut the silence of the night and made Farid jump.

"What are you doing awake?" Farid asked.

"I could ask the same, but you didn't answer my first question." Farid could see the flash of a smile in the night.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk." Farid shrugged, trying to be convincing.

"Is everything okay, Farid? It seems like something's been bothering you the past few days. You know you can talk to me about anything." Dustfinger's voice was concerned and even in the dark, Farid could feel his eyes on him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's bothering me. I'm just going for a walk to be alone for awhile."

"When will you be back? We're leaving in the morning, moving to a nice clearing Silvertongue found, I believe. So don't be out late, you'll be tired and no one likes traveling with lack of sleep." Dustfinger's voice held the tone of a father, kind yet stern.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be-I'll be back soon. . . Bye, Dustfinger." And he turned and walked silently into the night, turning his back on everyone he loved.

Now he saw a girl. She was beautiful. Soft features and rosy cheeks. Her eyes reminded him of the deep forest, green yet a hint of brown at the something was wrong. Her features showed worry and her eyes glassy as if she were trying to hold back tears. The image was blurring but he tried to focus, to see why she was upset. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, he fought to keep focus on her and not fall back into the darkness.

***

"And you're sure he'll be okay? He doesn't look any better." Dustfinger knelt beside the bed in their guest bedroom Farid was now laying on. Beside him, Lana knelt silent, just looking down at Farid's pale face.

"Yes, I'm sure. He had an allergic reaction to the pain medicine, so I've given him a rare herb that should allude the medicine to get it out of his bloodstream. I can't do anything more right now. He just needs rest and time for the herbs to start working." Roxane said. Dustfinger let out a breath of air he hadn't realized he was holding. He couldn't put into words of how relieved he was to hear Farid would be okay.

"We should let him sleep in peace. I can make some tea for us in the living room." Roxane's voice sounded nice but even Dustfinger could tell it was forced. He knew Roxane had never really liked Farid but she had gotten used to him, he thought.

Dustfinger looked over at Lana, still unmoving. She seemed to have relaxed some, but he could see her shoulders were still tense. When she looked up he could see her face was wiped with emotion, peaceful yet there was something that told him she was having a hard time keeping her face impassive. Her eyes flickered from them both and he realized with some surprise that there was a mixture of mistrust and something else in her eyes he couldn't quite identify. She rest her gaze on him for few seconds, before she smiled a small shy smile at them and stood.

"Thank you, really, for everything. But do you mind if I step outside for a moment?" she asked timidly, trying not to be rude.

"Of course."

***

Lana sat on a log bench on the porch, arms wrapped around herself, deep in thought. She looked up when Dustfinger came out the door. Embarrassed, she quickly wiped a tear that had escaped her eye but didn't look his way. He said nothing, just walked over and sat next to her, without a word. A few minutes of silence went on between them before she finally looked over at him. Her eyes raked slowly over the light faded scars along his face. She had heard stories, but actually seeing the scars in person and knowing the culprit who had made them was far worse. Thinking of that and of Farid, another single tear escaped her eye and she looked away quickly right when he turned to look at her.

"You shouldn't worry, Farid will be healthy again in only a few days." Dustfinger said softly, in a understanding tone.

"Yes, I know I shouldn't worry but that doesn't stop me from doing so. It's just-well I don't know. Everything is just so hard to think about," Lana sighed, not really wanting to talk or explain anything to do with her feelings. Even worse, she was trying her hardest to fight tears, she definitely didn't want to spill her emotions to some stranger she just met.

"I know how you feel. I've been through so many hard times where I didn't have any idea what I should do, where you didn't even know what you were feeling," he chuckled, "I even died. Of course I would've died earlier if it hadn't been for Farid. He saved my life more than once."

"He told me that you gave yourself to the White Women to save him." Lana said quietly, not sure if it was a topic he was comfortable talking about.

"Yes, and I'd do it again any day." Dustfinger replied, and Lana had no doubt that he meant it.

"Basta. Basta was the one that tried to killed Farid, and gave you those scars, wasn't he?" Lana was almost scared to hear the answer, though she already knew. What would they think of her when she told them that she was not only related, but brother and sister with Basta, the person that did so many awful things to them and their loved ones?

"Yes, but he hasn't given us any trouble for a few years. I don't really know what happened to him."

"Oh, that's good," Lana's voice cracked, and she inwardly cursed herself. She wanted to hate Basta, she tried to hate Basta, she needed to hate Basta, but as much as she tried she couldn't. Somewhere deep inside wouldnt' let her hate him. They had been all each other had after their parents had died in the fire. Basta took care of her and she took care of him. They shared everything and never lied to each other, no matter what it was. And with everything that had happened to them, they were still happy.

But then, one day Basta didn't come home from work at the blacksmiths'. She went and looked for him but his boss said he hadn't come in. She went all through town looking for him, calling his name, all through the forest, everywhere. That first night she didn't come home until the sun was shining from the new day and her voice was hoarse and her feet were bleeding from blisters. She wondered if he had found a new house for them to stay, or was looking for a new job, or even just playing a prank. But each passing day, she'd get even more worried when he didn't come home. Weeks and weeks went by, and she kept pushing away the possibility that he left her all alone, without a care or been killed. Eventually she had realized that it was true, he had left her, he didn't care, he didn't even love her. And so she took care of her self, years and years, and here she was.

About two years ago, she had started hearing rumors of Capricorn's return. She'd heard rumors about Basta too, but she never believed the town gossip. Until that one night when she had seen Basta in the marketplace with three other black jackets. He had glanced her way, and gave her a peculiar look but she knew he hadn't recognised her. Lana couldn't believe what Basta had become, she thought about going to find him, to ask what had happened, but every time the thought of him wanting to leave stopped her. There must have been some reason as to why he had left, but she had never found out, nor did she need to care now care now.

Tears were whelling in her eyes and she fought hard to keep them away. She hated crying, which was why she hardly ever did. When Farid had been unconsious, she kept thinking, _please don't take him away too_. She realized she loved Farid, even if she hadn't known him very long and she didn't want to lose him. Before she met Farid, she hadn't had anyone. But then in the forest, while they were talking, she could see in his eyes that he actually cared and wanted to know all about her, just like she wanted to know everything about him. But how can he feel the way she feels about him when he knows about her brother?

"Um, Dustfinger. Can I ask you something?" Lana asked timidly.

"Yes, of course. Anything." Dustfinger looked at her closely, but seemed a little glad that she was finally talking, maybe to try to make her feel better.

"Well. . .What if you love someone, b-but there's something they don't know about you and you wonder if-if they would still love you if they knew," she spoke each word carefully, calculating each word, and towards the end her voice grew softer, almost pleading for his answer.

Dustfinger was quiet for a few moments. "Well, if you truly love someone, it shouldn't matter." He looked at her and after a few minutes of silence he asked, "If you don't mind me asking... I understand if you don't want to tell me, that's between you and Farid."

She looked down at her hands in her lap and bit her lip, not sure how if she should tell him or not. She trusted and and was starting to like him, but she didn't want to ruin that. And Farid. She loved Farid, but how could she tell them that her brother was the one that tried and almost succeeded in killing them both?

"Basta is my older brother."

* * *

Well, I hope you like it. It was a little hard doing the conversation between Lana and Dustfinger and i'm afraid i might have gotten Dustfinger OOC, but what do you think? I have some ideas for where the story can go, so please review and tell me if you'd like me to continue. I have a really exciting plot that will happen in the next chapter, I'm thinking it over of how to start it, but give me your opinions and feel free to send me a message. Thanks

-LorennaLee


	5. Chapter 5

Dustfinger's head snapped up in her direction. Lana sat silently, letting his eyes roam over her face, and saw the realization in his eyes as he saw the resemblance. Surprising Lana, Dustfinger stood up and backed away from her in a defensive way, keeping his eyes on her as if she were some kind of poisonous snake about to strike. This made Lana angry. How dare he act like she was her brother? She understood that Basta was not his favorite person, but Lana had done nothing, absolutely nothing to him! She didn't deserve to be treated like someone as cruel and cold-hearted as one of the black jackets. You don't get to choose your blood. Sure, she still cared about Basta, as much as she wished she didn't, but that didn't mean she liked him in the least. She never wanted to see or hear from him again, never to even let him try to explain his stupid excuses as to why he had become what he had. She didn't think of him as her brother anymore, not the brother she used to love, no matter what blood said, he was not her brother. And here Dustfinger was acting as if she were just like him! What did he know about her?! He knew nothing!

Lana stood up too, just waiting for him to say something.

"What do you want? Just tell me so no one else gets hurt." The difference in Dustfinger's voice was startling. Before it had been soft and kind, now if was hard and cold, erased of any emotion except hate. His eyes were blank and unreadable.

Lana looked at him for a moment, at a loss for words. She couldn't believe it. She had just confided in him and this is what he does. And to even suggest she was part of them! This made her even angrier.

"How dare you even suggest I have anything to do with them?" she hissed, anger strong in her voice. Maybe she was over reacting, maybe just a misunderstanding, but she didn't care. He didn't have any right making accusations.

"Drop the act and tell me what they want." Dustfinger's voice held nothing like understanding. "I can't believe how cold you are. Didn't you feel even the slightest twinge of guilt making Farid believe you actually care for him?"

"I love Farid and I would never do anything to hurt him. I don't care what you think!"

"Say whatever you will, just leave now and don't cause any more problems than you already have," Dustfinger said.

"You don't know anything! I understand you holding a grudge against Basta, but I've done nothing, not a damn thing to you! And if anyone has the right the hold grudges against him, it's me."

"Oh, is that so? Do you have any idea of what he has caused? What he has done to me? He ripped me away from my family, hurt the people I love, and has been trying to kill me for years!" Dustfinger was mad too, but not as mad as Lana. She silently fumed for a few seconds, then looked straight up into his face, meeting his eyes. She wished she were taller, she hated feeling smaller and insuperior.

"Yeah you've had it bad. Let's see if I can try to beat it. My parents died in a fire when I was only nine years old, leaving my brother and I to fend for ourselves. I worked two jobs, him three. I loved him, we were each other's best friends, all each other had. When i was ten, Basta went through a period of drinking all the time, leaving me to take care of both of us alone, without any help from even him. We lost our home because I couldn't afford the payments, and i could only work three jobs a day. After six months of living in a different place every day and Basta slowly drinking himself away, I finally got us back on track and found us a place to stay. I helped him through his drinking problem and eventually we were happy for awhile. Then when I was twelve, he just up and left. He left me, after everything we'd been through, after everything I'd given up because of him. I'd loved and trusted him, and he just left without a care! So, no, you're wrong. I'd never want to help him, never even want to see or hear from him again!" Lana's voice was almost yelling, anger exploding out of her. She turned away from Dusfinger and crossed her arms around herself before wiping a traitor tear that had rolled down her cheeks and taking a deep breath.

From behind her came a slow clap. She slowly turned, anger building again, to see Dustfinger with a sarcastic smirk on his face. He was clapping and his hands had tiny flames on the tips of his fingers. "Fantastic story. Congratulations. That must have took you awhile to think up."

Lana took a step closer to him and clapped her hands hard over his hands, distinguishing the small flames, so mad she couldn't even think of something to say.

They were glaring at each other, silently fuming, when they heard a chuckle. Both their heads snapped in the direction of the front yard, where they saw four men in black, one of which Lana recognised as one of the robbers in the woods. Recognition sparked in her mind as she realized that they were black jackets. Before Dustfinger or herself could respond, the men had rushed forward and grabbed them, quickly tying their hands behind their backs. Lana tried to scream but the man grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth. She bit as hard as she could,and had the satisfaction of having him let out a yelp and jump back. Though the satisfaction didn't last long, he reeled back and slapped her across the face, making a loud crack noise and leaving a red mark on her face. She staggered back, shocked and hurt from the stinging.

"Do that again, princess, and you'll be wishing you hadn't." he hissed.

"What did I tell you, Flatnose? She is Basta's sister." He grinned. "And who would've thought. We get the fire dancer as a bonus."

"W-what do you mean? How do you know I'm Basta's sister?"

"No time for chit-chat. Come on get walking." Than man from the woods, Grisom, said giving them a rough shove.

Lana glanced over at Dustfinger. His face was wiped of emotion. She tried to meet his eyes but he wouldn't look at her.

After walking through the woods about half an hour, Dustfinger spoke. "Why do you want us?" The use of the word "us" caught Lana off guard. She thought he hated her, so why would he care about her?

"We don't want you, fire dancer. We want her," Flatnose pointed a big finger at Lana.

"But why? What do you me for?" Lana asked.

"To get back at your brother, of course. Basta saw you in the market one day and a few days ago he decided he wanted to leave us to go find you. And no one leaves the black jackets and gets away with it." Another man answered, they had called him Swarson. He flashed a smile, "We found you first, so he'll pay for what he did."


	6. Chapter 6

Half an hour later, Lana was shoved, along with Dustfinger, into an abandoned one room house in the middle of what Lana guessed was the black jacket new headquarters. Years without the black jackets had led many to believe that they were actually dead and gone. Unfortunely, they were wrong. Apparently once they had gotten back to the inkworld, like Farid had told her they had, the blackjackets had reformed and gotten a new leader.

Lana fell with a thud next to dustfinger, who still hadn't said anything. Flatnose crouched down in front of her with a sickening grin on his face. He lightly pushed a string of hair that had escaped her braid behind her hair. She cringed away from him, not liking his proximity to her. He noticed this and grinned wider. "What? Don't like me?," he laughed before grabbing her roughly by the face and forcing his lips on hers.

She tried to pull away, but she couldn't do much with her hands tied behind her back, so she bit him as hard as she could. He yanked back and cursed loudly, some blood dripping out of his mouth. His anger was boiling out of him, a dangerous glint in his eyes that told her she was in deep trouble. Flatnose's fist came unexpected, hitting her in the side of the face with so much force that her head collided with the wall behind her and then slid down to Dustfinger's shoulder. Lana closed her eyes for a second trying to stop the dizzy feeling and spinning sensation she was feeling. She was barely aware that Flatnose and the other men had left until she heard the door close with a slam and heard the key turn in the lock.

"Oww," she moaned before trying to right herself to get off his shoulder. She looked up at him and saw that his eyes were blazing with anger. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall on you," she stuttered.

His eyes immediately softened. "No, it's not you at all. Are you okay?" his eyes held concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she lied. She really felt disgusted, it revolted her that he had kissed her, had stuck his tongue in her mouth. And not only that, the side of her face hurt a lot. Lana lifted her hand to her face, it was hot and stung when she touched it, she winced. Her eyes lifted to find Dustfinger watching her intently as if he knew she were lying.

"What? I said I was fine." Lana snapped. She knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't get over how he had treated her. How he had called her a liar, and one of the black jackets. She scooted a little away from him and hugged her knees to her chest, not wanting to talk.

"Are you really okay?" he asked, his voice sounding rough but soft. He seemed like he was thinking of what to say.

"Oh, yeah. Jolly good, having a great time. How bout you?" she asked in a sarcastic cheerful voice. She knew she shouldn't be acting so childish, but she didn't care. So sorry she couldn't be in a good mood after finding someone she fell in love with, being ripped away from him, kidnapped, kissed by a disgusting pervert, and all along with a man that hated her and called her a complete traitor/liar after she confided in him. So yeah, she should be in a great mood, wouldn't you think?

"I'm sorry...for everything I said. I shouldn't have made such accusations about you." Dustfinger said, sincerity in his voice. She could tell he was truthfully sorry, and wanted her to forgive him. Lana wasn't sure she really could forgive and forget, but it seemed she had no other option than to forgive, they had to find a way to escape.

"Don't worry about it. Anyone would make the same assumptions," Lana said, distracted. She was looking around the room, trying to find an opening that they could possibly use to their advantage. She found none, not even a crack in the wall, nothing that could help them.

As the night wore on, they sat in silence trying to think of a plan, coming up with no possible escape. Finally, Lana let her forehead fall to rest on her knees with a heavy sigh. "Have you thought of anything?"

"I'm afraid not. I suppose, as of right now, we should just wait and see what happens." Dustfinger said, and he sighed too.

After sitting through another hour of silence, Lana really just wanted to talk to someone, to get her mind off where they were and what might happen to her. She didn't want to think about everything that was swarming around in her head, all the questions she had, she just wanted something to stop herself from thinking about everything. She looked over at Dustfinger. It was dark, and all she could see was was his outline and his eyes when they felt her gaze and looked up to meet hers.

"What was it like with the White Women?" she asked, curiously.

"I don't remember. Why do you ask?" Lana had the impression that he was lying.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just trying to get my mind off everything that I could be freaking out about."

"How much do you know about Farid, exactly?" he asked cautiously, like he wasn't sure how much he could say, without saying too much,

"Umm, well he told me everything, actually. About where he actually came from, about the silvertongues, Capricorn. He even told me about his old girlfriend. He talked about you a lot, he really thinks a lot of you. You all have been through a lot together."

He was quiet for a while, and she knew he was thinking about something. The thought of Farid made her heart ache, and her eyes swim with tears in the possibility that she may never see him again. She missed him more than anything. She wished she could be in his warm arms, looking into his eyes full of love. She didn't realize just how much she loved him, until now, when she didn't have him with her. He would've protected her, not let anyone or anything hurt her. She curled her body up, hugging her knees and rested her face in her knees again. She angrily wiped a tear away. Oh how she hated to cry and feel weak, and here she was letting Dustfinger see her cry again. Though she was sure he couldn't see her in the dark, she still felt he knew she was upset, so she decided to be honest and not even try to fool him. "I miss Farid so much...I've never felt this way for anyone..." her voice was soft and very quiet.

"I know, but don't worry. We're going to find a way out of here. No matter what."

_Meanwhile, back at Dustfinger and Roxane's house...._

Farid woke to find the house completely deserted. He stumbled to the kitchen to find a note from Roxane addressed to Dustfinger: _Gone to the marketplace to get more herbs. Be back in a few hours. Roxane._ That explained one person gone, but where were Lana and Dustfinger? Leaving the note on the table, he walked out to the front porch and looked around, but saw nothing. Dustfinger wasn't out back playing with fire and there were no sign of where either of them had gone. Farid figured Lana might have gone with Roxane and maybe Dustfinger was just out in the village or something. So he sat down in one of the rocking chairs to wait for someone to get back.

He felt much better, just a little pain in his shoulder, but it was still healing. Farid sat thinking a few minutes when he suddenly heard someone approaching from the woods. He looked over, suspecting one of them, but it wasn't. The person was too far away to make out any features, but he could tell by the figure that it was large and bulky. The figure came closer and closer until he could finally see the person if he squinted. He was too shocked to do anything until the person saw him and caught his eye from a few feet away. Neither of them said a word, only stared.

In the yard in front of him, stood Basta, looking rough like he had traveled a far ways and been through much. And the strangest part of it all was that he wasn't threatening him with a knife.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, I'm not proud of this chapter. I've been having trouble with my stupid wi-fi connection so I haven't been able to write much, SOO I had to write this in one sitting, which didn't work out too well. But this is the best I could do, so I hope you like it! Next chapter will be better, I promise! Review, please!


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